Gallery

Info

How did Homo sapiens Succeed? | First Peoples

How were Homo sapiens successful in settling each of the five major continents by 13,000 to 14,000 years ago? See evidence of interactions between Homo sapiens and other early human groups (such as Neanderthals and Denisovans), including the cultural artifacts that these groups produced, in these clips drawn from the documentary First Peoples. Use the lesson plan in Support Materials below to encourage students to decide which evidence of cultural output they think historians should use to explain how Homo sapiens became the winner hominid.

A man, now known to scientists as "Mungo Man," was buried by a lakeside in south-eastern Australia 42,000 years ago. Evidence uncovered with him suggests that he was buried in a ceremonial manner, providing the earliest evidence of spirituality anywhere in the world.

Australian Aborigines, the oldest continual culture anywhere in the world, claim that one of their "songlines"—ancient star charts they have used for tens of thousands of years to navigate their land and find each other_refers back to the original crossing from Asia to Australia.

Permitted Use:

Stream Only

Accessibility:

Transcript:

The Max Planck Institute is a leader in the study of ancient DNA, and in 2010 cracked the genetic code of a Neanderthal. What they found contributed evidence to a new story about the relationship between Neanderthals and modern humans—one that emphasizes the interaction between these two groups.

Archaeologists at Hohle Fels in Germany uncovered a 35,000 years old bone flute, one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. This type of intricate art was key to the expansion of Homo sapiens into Europe, allowing people to share a culture and an identity, and establish a social network.

Some archaeologists, like Joao Zilhao, believe that Neanderthals had an aesthetic sense and were capable of symbolic thought—characteristics that would make them as smart and "modern" as the Homo sapiens that eventually replaced them.

Permitted Use:

Stream Only

Accessibility:

Transcript:

A man, now known to scientists as "Mungo Man," was buried by a lakeside in south-eastern Australia 42,000 years ago. Evidence uncovered with him suggests that he was buried in a ceremonial manner, providing the earliest evidence of spirituality anywhere in the world.